| Popis: |
High effort is important for success in challenging STEM courses. However, gender stereotypes about ability in STEM fields often associate high effort with low ability, particularly for women. Thus, it is important to disentangle the complex and gendered relations between effort and ability to promote gender equity in STEM.Researchers suggest that social comparisons of effort lead students to view high effort as an indication of low ability. To date, however, social comparisons of effort have been largely underexplored. In addition, little work has examined how effort can be a cause and an effect of ability. As a result, there is a lack of knowledge about social comparisons of effort and the reciprocal relationships between effort and ability in postsecondary STEM education. To address this gap in the literature, this study examined two perceptions of effort: (a) criterion effort (i.e., students’ perceived levels of effort they expend for a task with reference to their own typical effort; e.g., the perception of trying hard), (b) comparative effort (i.e., students’ perceived levels of effort they expend for a task with reference to their perceptions of effort others expend for an equivalent task; e.g., the perception of trying harder than others).This study investigated (a) the reciprocal relations between two perceptions of effort (comparative effort, criterion effort), science self-concept, achievement (midterms, final exam), and STEM pursuit (intention to leave STEM), (b) gender differences in these relations in undergraduate chemistry. I recruited undergraduate students (N = 690) in introductory chemistry courses and administered online surveys at three times during a semester.Results from multiple group cross-lagged panel analysis showed three noteworthy findings. First, women’s science self-concept was positively associated with criterion effort but negatively associated with comparative effort. Second, criterion effort was negatively associated with women’s intention to leave STEM. On the contrary, comparative effort was positively associated with men’s intention to leave STEM. Third, both criterion and comparative efforts were reciprocally associated with science self-concept across genders. Students’ perception of trying hard (i.e., criterion effort) led to higher midterm scores. Higher midterm scores, in turn, led students to perceive that they try hard in the course. These positive reciprocal effects lasted longer for women than men over the semester. Conversely, students’ perception of trying harder than others (i.e., comparative effort) led to lower midterm scores. Lower midterm scores, in turn, led students to perceive that they try harder than others in the course. These negative reciprocal effects emerged during the first half of the semester for both genders.The current study offers suggestions for practical efforts to gender equity in STEM. These findings suggest that it is important to encourage students to endorse the self-referenced, rather than other-referenced, view on their effort. De-emphasizing comparative effort and encouraging criterion effort can be effective ways to increase positive self-concept, success, and ultimately retain all students in STEM. |
